Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

Brazil has excellent golf greens in its top travel destinations. There are many golf clubs and greens in Sao Paulo district, more than in any other Brazilian state. It’s easy to play golf once in place, even near Sao Paulo beach zones: Guaruja and Santos. But do you know the history and rencent development of golf in Brazil?

Golf made its debut at the second modern Olympics in Paris in 1900, but was dropped after the 1904 games in St. Louis. The sport was returned to the Olympic roster by an International Olympic Committee vote in 2009 that also guaranteed it a place in 2020, but its participation beyond that will largely depend on an IOC evaluation after the Rio Games.

Brazilian Olympic organizers and local officials are in the final process of choosing the course’s location, and the decision may be announced within two months, before IOC officials arrive in Rio for an Olympic project and TaylorMade R7 CGB Max Fairway Wood review in late April.

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Though it’s possible an established private course could be renovated, it’s likely a new course will be built in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood of Rio, where most sports will be played during the Olympics, Pacheco said.

Officials want a public course to help boost the sport locally and develop it after the Olympics. Besides the course, organizers also want to build training academies and schools to develop golf professionals. Brazil has only one player in the U.S. PGA Tour, Alexandre Rocha.

Brazilian golf officials want to bring other high-profile events to the country ahead of the Olympics, and there is a chance for Mizuno JPX E-Metal Fairway Wood in the Presidents Cup will be played in Rio in 2015.

Local governments will handle the cost of building or revamping a course for the Olympic competition, which will consist of a 72-hole stroke-play event for men and women, with 60 players in each field. Golf officials have promised the IOC they will not stage any major championships on the dates of the Olympic tournament.

Though golf has grown in popularity in Brazil, it remains an elite sport in the football-mad nation, where there are fewer than 30,000 golfers and just over 100 courses. The only true public course is the nine-hole Japeri Golfe Clube in Rio.

There is hope the Olympics will change that, helping attract more courses and making the sport more popular, changing the perspective many Brazilians have about golf and u may want to know about Callaway New RAZR X Irons

Who is a volunteer? Someone who gives a bit of his or her time, free of charge, to a cause, or an organization, or an event, or another person. When people speak of volunteering, it often becomes this big issue of giving to others, performing “social service”. Well, I volunteer for strictly selfish reasons. I do it for myself. Here are my top 10 reasons for being a volunteer whenever the opportunity arises.

1. You learn new life skills and to get a peek into a profession different from your own: Volunteer opportunities often give an inside view of a profession other than your own. Folks who volunteer to build homes learn all kinds of useful carpentry and plumbing skills. Those who volunteer in community kitchens get to be “chefs” for a little while. I have learnt to scale up recipes to 100 or more servings with ease, and to make complete meals out of odd collections of the ingredients at hand. Many volunteer opportunities are exercises in management and organization.
2. . Being a volunteer can provide the opportunity to travel abroad, learn new languages and so much more. Those who volunteer to run marathons sometimes get access to professional trainers. I recently got the chance to teach a cooking class. I have also had the opportunity to attend classes taught by professional chefs by simply being the volunteer helper for that class.
3. You get some exercise. If you are bored by the thought of exercising alone in a gym, consider a volunteer position which could get your muscles to work, such as working in a community garden, lifting heavy pots and pans in a community kitchen or doing a walk/run for an event. Some of my most inspiring friends are “regular” people who have become athletes and run in marathons.
4. You get to be around motivated people. It turns out that the people who spend their free time doing volunteer work are often wonderful souls with big hearts and great attitudes. I have learnt a lot from being around these inspiring people, and have made valuable friendships with those who volunteer at the same places that I go to.

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5. You get a chance to meet people very different from yourself. Most of us have friends who are in the same tax bracket, age group and socioeconomic group as ourselves. When you volunteer, you meet people who may come from completely different backgrounds and it is an eye-opening exercise to get to know them. I learned to appreciate people as individuals, that the elderly person who needs donated meals is not a statistic but has funny stories to relate and life experiences that I can learn from. My biggest lesson in sharing came from a malnourished homeless child (in a school for street children) who, when offered a cookie, broke it in two and gave me one half. Over the years, I have been learning to get off my high horse and learn “where people are coming from” and it sure has made me a little sober about my views and attitudes.
6. It provides a surge of positive energy. It is just depressing to watch the news or read the papers and see nothing but injustice and destruction everywhere in the world. But going out there and doing something small- smaller than even a drop in the ocean- can provide a ridiculous amount of hope and happiness. It makes you feel like you do have some amount of control over what goes on in our world.
7. It makes you feel more connected. When I moved to St. Louis, I had several months on my hands while I looked for a job, and in a new city without many friends, the days could become long and lonely. When I started volunteering, I suddenly felt useful and connected, as if I was now part of the local community. In a few weeks, people at the place where I volunteered started to rely on me as their “vegetable cook” and I finally felt like this city was home, where I had a place in the grand scheme of things.
8. You learn to count your blessings. Seeing the relentless hardships that people encounter- crime, poverty, disparities, illness- makes me grateful for everything I have. When I get into a petulant mood and start whining about small things that go wrong, I am more compelled to stop and look at the big picture and allow myself to be happy and contented with my own life.
9. You develop a problem-solving attitude. There is no end to the problems in this world and it is all too easy to rant about them. It is much harder to do something about it. The volunteer spirit teaches you to think about ways to do something about any problem you come across rather than watch helplessly or simply complain.
10. It is a great team-building exercise. At the community kitchen, I often see groups of coworkers come in to volunteer as a group. It is fun to see the “office” barriers drop and how the group dynamic improves as they make banana bread (or whatever) together. Many people who have children don’t feel like they can take time away from their families to do volunteer work. But for children of school-going age and beyond, the whole family can volunteer together. What a great way to teach children some solid values!

Being a volunteer is a state of mind. It can be something that we do for a hour or two every week or month or it can be a one-time thing. It is something thoroughly enjoyable and fulfilling and it is such a pity that more of us don’t do it more often. Whether you donate blood, spend the morning planting flowers in a community garden, conduct a bake sale, run a marathon, train your pet to be a therapy animal and take it to hospitals…there are volunteer opportunities for everyone, in every place, to fit every schedule.

I think it is really important to think of volunteering as something we do for our own happiness and well-being rather than some form of charity that we do for others. As giving BACK; as gratitude for all our good fortune, rather than simply as giving something away as if we were such magnanimous souls. As something we do on an everyday (or weekly or monthly) basis as an integral part of our lives rather than something we plan to do in the intangible future, in that mythical moment “when I have more time”. I say- the time is now! Do something good for yourself- become a volunteer.

In 1995, Petra joined a small St. Louis-based software development company as its 10th employee. She was hired to assist one of the three partners in his dealings with prospective customers. Over the next seven years, Petra worked hard, and grew in responsibility as the company grew in revenues. Seven years later, in 2002, there were 185 employees, with offices in four cities. While rising to the position of Senior Vice President of Business Development, Petra had helped build the customer base from 38 to 174. Unfortunately, her compensation hadn’t grown nearly as much.

Petra experienced first-hand what few people realize: rapidly growing companies struggle increasingly to pay bills, to balance cashflow, and to maintain sufficient working capital. As is common in growing companies, cashflow always seemed tight. Every equipment purchase, every marketing campaign, and every new office seemed to devour available company resources. For Petra, this meant her raises had been minimal, her bonuses had been negligible, and her benefits remained limited. Petra’s boss knew her value, and prized her contributions, but felt he couldn’t afford to do much better. When Petra asked that her compensation be raised to what she thought was “market” for her skills, her boss shrugged, and said, “maybe next year,” or “possibly, if we go public.” Petra even asked about the possibility of “becoming a partner,” but was told, “We’re not ready to do anything like that.”

In January, 2002, just before Petra’s scheduled annual performance review, she consulted us. She didn’t want to leave the company; in many ways it was like her “home.” At the same time, she felt she wasn’t earning enough for her family, her retirement, and her kids’ education. And given the poor state of the economy in 2002, there didn’t seem to be many jobs available in software sales. One suggestion we made was that in her negotiations she request “no less favorable” treatment. In other words, if the company ever decided it could provide its executives compensation, benefits and equity at a level closer to “market,” then Petra, too, would be entitled to that same – or better – treatment. In international trade and diplomacy, this is sometimes referred to as “most favored nation” status.

At her annual review, Petra raised the issue with her boss. “You know, Jim, if and when the company finally does have the revenues to give market-rate compensation and benefits, I’d like to know that I’ll be first in line.” “Sure,” he responded, “Isn’t that what I’ve always told you?… when we have the money.” In fact, that was exactly what he’d told her for years. In his memo to HR confirming Petra’s two percent raise, Petra had her boss insert a notation that “Petra has expressed disappointment with her raise this year, and in prior years. When the company elevates its executive compensation in the future, Petra should be treated no less favorably than other executives at her level.” It wasn’t money in her pocket, but it was potential advantage, which is better than no advantage at all.

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Over the next two years, the company started to hire more seasoned executives, apparently to prepare itself to “go public.” First came a Chief Financial Officer, then a Chief Operating Officer. In turn, they brought on board trusted lieutenants they knew from other companies. And to do so, promises had to be made of market-level compensation. One decision reached was to distribute stock options to senior executives to provide greater incentives. In late 2004, the “unexpected” took place: Petra’s company agreed to a buyout by a larger, rival company. Everyone was excited, and nervous, too, wondering, “What does this mean for me?” It meant a lot: layoffs and severance packages for some, retention bonuses (bonuses to be paid six, twelve or twenty-four months later, provided you stayed on during the transition) and stock options for others. Unfortunately, the acquiring company had its own SVP – New Business Development, and so Petra was laid off.

Petra did, though, have two important things to be happy about: first, her severance package would be “no less favorable” than those given to others at her level. It turned out that two of her recently-hired colleagues had negotiated significant severance packages when hired; this more than doubled what the company had intended to give Petra. Even better, one of her colleagues was promised stock option vesting if laid off, and Petra got that, too. Second, Petra voiced her suspicion that she’d been paid less than some others over the past two years. It turned out she was right: not only did the company pay her what she’d been shortchanged, but her severance payments was made at the higher salary level, too.

[Had Petra not been laid off, but instead been chosen to remain with her company, being treated "no less favorably" in that event would have been advantageous, as well. In that event, Petra would have received the same level - the highest level - of stock options, retention bonus, and other treatment, too.]

In negotiating for yourself at work, consider trying “No Less Favorable.” Especially at times of impasse, when you aren’t getting what you want, requesting “No Less Favorable” may be the best you can do. And it is often granted because granting you “no less favorable” treatment costs your employer nothing at the time. Your request says, in effect, “If right now you can’t afford to pay me what I’m worth, can you assure me I’ll get what I’m worth when you can afford to?” It’s hard to say “no” to such a reasonable, and reasoned, request. It is what we sometimes call a “positional play,” and is often used by smart sports agents, theatrical agents, even the U.S. Government when it is in large-scale purchasing negotiations.

One reason why it can be of such help is that it puts you “up on the highest platform”: someone else may have better leverage in her negotiations; someone else may have negotiated better than you did; someone else may have been granted a personal favor, perhaps payback for an earlier favor. No matter. “No less favorable” gets you the advantages they’ve managed, somehow, to achieve. Consider its use in your own negotiating for yourself at work.

Workplace negotiating stresses pro-activity and planning in negotiating for yourself at work. While our clients are usually adept at requesting workplace “rewards,” they’re less comfortable responding when their requests for “rewards” are declined. Here’s a good tool to try if that happens to you.

Don’t forget to consider the advantages of “No Less Favorable” in your workplace negotiating, especially if at impasse. “No Less Favorable” requests actually come in a variety of “shapes, colors and sizes,” and can be adapted to many situations. Consider using these, or variations of them:

• “I know it’s been a bad year, and that bonuses will be lower. At the very least, can I count on my bonus not being any lower than anyone else’s?”

• “Considering my long-term service, if the firm elevates any of its accountants to partner, can I count on your assurances that no one will be considered for elevation to partner before I am?”

• Later on, if new investors are brought in, it’s only fair that any future treatment their stock gets – regarding dilution, preferences, or other rights and opportunities – those of us who built the company should get no less favorable treatment.

• “My present employer provides five weeks paid vacation; you only give three. If you change the vacation policy for anyone, can you include me in that, too?”

• “If any exceptions are made for anyone regarding early vesting of stock options, I think you’ll agree, no one deserves an exception more than me.”

• “When the hiring freeze is over, I expect my department will be given the first two new researchers.”

• “I can accept that the company can’t afford to pay better salaries now. When finally it can, can I count on a raise then?”

Of course, as you would with any promise (or agreement, deal, assurance, pledge, commitment, understanding, handshake, accord, bargain, arrangement, bond, mutual expectation, resolution or pact) make sure you confirm it in writing or electronically, so that it can later be resurrected. We commonly suggest it be done by way of confirmatory email, Memo to File, or “thank you” note.

A note about our Actual Case Histories: In order to preserve client confidences, and protect client identities, we alter certain facts, including the name, age, gender, position, date, geographical location, and industry of our clients. The essential facts, the point illustrated and the lesson to be learned, remain actual.

“Race relations and Law Enforcement in the United States of America”

By

Osasumwen Osaghae

January, 2009

The spate of deadly shootings by the police in the process of apprehending suspects has led many commentators to suggest a racial undercurrent in the attitude of the police officers. In fact, there is the racial current in law enforcement attitudes when it comes to minorities like blacks and Latinos. There are different aspects of the racial current discuss. First, there is the white officer versus black victim scenario; black officer versus white victim scenario; black officer versus black victim scenario and black officer versus white victim scenario, (Peruche & Plant, 2006). It has been suggested citing the danger perception theory that the police are more likely to use deadly force in areas or situations where they encounter greater levels of violence or perceive their jobs to be particularly dangerous, (Best & Quigley, 2003). The place of racial sentiments in police deadly shootings is not entirely clear as there are competing theories seeking to explain police deadly shootings. There is the perceived danger perspective which attributes police shootings to the threat posed by the suspect sought to be apprehended. Even so, a study found that preconceived notions of violence associated with certain races plays a significant role in how the police officers react to threats posed by suspects, (Alpert 2007). Not all the theories share the sentiments of the minorities in the attitude of the police in apprehending black suspects. There are those who support the law enforcement community arguing that minorities should be profiled as criminals or as potential criminals because they are more likely to commit crimes. Profiling and stopping individuals for investigative procedures was therefore thought to be a rational response to the drug and crime problem among some law enforcement officers, notwithstanding the obvious ecological fallacy of targeting individuals based on group behavior, (Alpert 2007). The major question is to what extent does race impact the way law enforcement officers deal with black suspects in relation to how white suspects are treated?

The writer contends that race may be a factor in the attitude of the police in apprehending black suspects. But it is only relevant to the extent that blacks are associated with more aggression and violence than other ethnic groups. It is the fact of the association more than the race itself that triggers more aggressive policing strategies in typically black neighborhoods.

There is a growing concern that police officers may be more aggressive in their responses to minority compared to White suspects, (Peruche & Plant). Such responses may be influenced by stereotypic expectations. For example, it is possible that the stereotype that Black men are more likely to be violent and hostile may create expectations that Black people, particularly Black men, are more likely to be violent criminals than are. This may have led to a series of deadly police shootings which will be reviewed in this paper

Culture appears to have an impact on interpersonal relationships in the society. If there is racial prejudice in a given society, the police force where dominated by the oppressive race as in white race in relation to the oppressed race (black) cannot be free from such prejudice. Consequently, a corrupt society would produce a corrupt police force even though; a different picture may be painted. The definition of culture by Linton (1945) supports the argument that police force can only be as good as the society it operates. For him, the culture of society is the way of life of its members; the collection of ideas and habits which they learn, share and transmit from generation to generation. There is another aspect of culture that is relevant to racial prejudice in policing, cultural sensitivity on the part of the police officers. Given the multi-ethnic constitution of most societies in the United States of America today, it is very possible that a police may find himself among a people, whose culture he knows little or nothing about. It is imperative therefore that police officers be trained in cultural diversity and sensitivity from time to time. In this respect, is aggression violence? Being loud or always defensive may be annoying to a law enforcement officer. But is it enough to provoke a forceful apprehension to the extent of fatally shooting a suspect?

The paper will review several incidents of deadly police shootings with a view to identifying a pattern if any and the place of race in the actions of the police officers in the shooting incidents. The crux of the matter appears to be attributing primacy to race as a determinant of police reactions or reactions to perceived danger with race as a concomitant variable in the police officers’ reactions. Among others, the paper will review the Amadou Diallo case in New York, Kathryn Jones in Atlanta and Jason Gomez in Denver.

Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant with no criminal record, was 22 years old when he was killed on Feb. 5, 1999, by four New York City police officers. The officers — Kenneth Boss, Sean Carroll, Edward McMellon and Richard Murphy — acknowledged firing 41 shots that night, but said they thought that Mr. Diallo was carrying a gun. Mr. Diallo, who came to America more than two years before from Guinea and worked as a street peddler in Manhattan, was hit by 19 bullets while standing in the doorway of his Bronx apartment building. The case set off massive protests across the city, and became a flashpoint for heightened frictions between minority leaders and the administration of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. All four officers, who were in plainclothes, said they approached Mr. Diallo because they thought he fit the description of a man wanted in a rape case. They contended that when he pulled out his wallet to show identification they mistook it for a gun.

Members of a Georgia narcotics investigation team shot and killed 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston during a drug raid in her Atlanta home November 21, 2006.

A search warrant stating crack cocaine was being sold in her apartment allowed the officers to cut through the burglar bars protecting Johnston’s home and burst through her door without identifying themselves.

Johnston, who lived alone, apparently mistook the plainclothes officers for intruders and, according to the prosecutor trying the officers, fired one shot through the door and hit nothing. The police responded, firing 39 shots, killing Johnston and apparently wounding three of their own. Jason GomezOn December 19, Denver police officer Timothy Campbell was standing in the middle of the street in a west Denver neighborhood, his gun pointed at a man. The patrolman had been driving north on Irving Street when he’d passed a 1997 Saturn that seemed suspicious. When Campbell made a U-turn, the Saturn quickly sped down a side street and pulled into a driveway. As the officer drove up, a man — he looked to be in his early thirties, Hispanic, wearing a light, baggy jacket — jumped out of the car and ran. Campbell followed him on foot, through back yards and over fences. The man reached the 3200 block of West Ada Place, where he slipped on a patch of ice. He got up and continued down the street, falling twice more. By now Campbell had closed the gap, and when the man got up again, the two were facing each other, less than ten feet apart. Campbell had his service pistol drawn: a .45-caliber semi-automatic Glock. The man reached into his pants pocket, put his hand behind his back, and then started moving his hand forward. Campbell saw the glint of something metallic. He fired two rounds, paused, and then fired four more. The man fell onto a pile of dirty snow.

For some inexplicable reasons or strange coincidence, it is the blacks and the Hispanics that are always caught committing some crimes, (Ruth & Reitz, 2003, P. 32). This is not to suggest that there is no merit in the claim of disproportionate prosecution for crimes involving certain races and ethnic groupings. The point is that, the races and ethnic groups involved tend to have an unusual criminal propensity. Some have argued that the way the society is structured economically places the concerned races and ethnic groups at a disadvantage. This may be a valid argument. It is also true that the African-Americans have a higher criminal propensity than any other single group in the United States of America. At this point, there cannot be any legal justification for resorting to crime and the reasons are obvious. A lot of African Americans suggest that survival is the sole reason for indulging in crime. For precisely the same reason, other persons are pursuing legitimate enterprises in a bid to survive. It is not strange that school drop outs are highest among the African Americans. It follows that if the basis is weak, the superstructure will as of necessity follow suit. There are many factors impacting the criminal propensity of African Americans. For example, the presence of several liquor stores in typically black populations is perceived as deliberate as it facilitates violent behavior and increases incidents of grievous bodily harm and homicide.

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Winter (1980) contended citing other authors and quite rightly in my view that police shooting is the greatest triggering mechanism for racial violence in this United States of America today. Making the case for the racial content in police shootings, the writer noted that studies have shown that the ratio of black victims to white victims of police shootings is as high as 30-to-1 in Milwaukee and in Chicago which has the highest rate of civilian deaths, the ratio is 6-to-1. According to the writer, the solution may be in changing the attitude of the police officers themselves. Some of the officers think that controlling their power of deadly force is handcuffing them. The problem with this way of thinking is that they appear to want uncontrolled power in dealing with blacks as opposed to whites. What is probably required is a re-orientation and some form diversity tolerance training with the hope that the police officers would use deadly force less frequently on black people

Apart from the case of Kathryn Johnston, the other victims of the deadly police shooting reviewed in this paper were unarmed and curiously ethnic minorities. The reviewed cases and others like them have given rise to negative sentiments on the part of the ethnic minorities, to wit the blacks and Latinos. There has been the attitude that Police hate blacks. The sentiment is predicated on a vast history of large and small events that African Americans face from police attitudes and actions. According to this school of thought, (Brunson, 2007), blacks do not only draw from their own experiences, but also from a consistent pattern of events they are exposed to in their communities. This perception that the police do not like black people is not helped by the aggressive policing strategies employed by the police in disadvantaged African American neighborhoods, (the hood, ghetto etc). Indirect experiences have the potential to amplify or validate individuals’ interpretations of personal experiences and merit in-depth examination Based on research finding on attitudes of African Americans towards the police, there is the contention that citizens’ distrust is more widespread among African Americans than among white folks. Brunson examines in-depth interviews of 40 African-American adolescent males who resided in a disadvantaged urban neighborhood in St. Louis to better understand their experiences with the police. A major focus of the study was to develop a “detailed understanding” of how these African-American adolescent males interpret their interactions with the police, as well as the interactions of family members, friends, and neighbors, and to assess how these experiences shape their perceptions of the police. The findings suggest that either direct or indirect mistreatment by the police led to negative evaluations by the participants. A lot of the distrust emanates from media reporting of police handling of African American cases. The cases are sensationally reported highlighting the racial contents over and above the dynamics leading to the shootings as in perceived threats and dangers encountered by the police officers involved. The case of Kathryn Johnston, the 92 year old woman shot in Atlanta by the police. She had shot into the ceiling before the officers opened fire. This is not an attempt to defend the actions of the police officers. But when a gun is fired, can it reasonably said that one would not feel endangered so as to provoke a certain reaction such as to shoot with two purposes in mind: self defense and apprehension of the suspect who is armed and dangerous? Given the background of the case which was supposed to be a drug bust, should the officers have left their guards down? I think not. There is some reason in the contention that some neighborhoods are more dangerous than others. Where a neighborhood is notorious for criminal propensity, violence and drug trafficking, the policing strategies cannot be any thing but aggressive. The various cases highlighted above only served to increase citizens’ distrust of the police among blacks in the communities where the fatalities happened. Brunson (2007) recommended that a consideration should be given to the cumulative properties of police/citizen interactions in order to fully comprehend the nature of conflicts between minority communities and police.

The Brunson view is supported by a later article titled Either they don’t know or they don’t care: black males and negative police experiences by Stewart (2007). In addition, he identified race as one of the most salient predictors of perceptions and attitudes towards the police and may be a function of neighborhood context. Owing to social limitations, imagined or real, many residents of structurally disadvantaged neighborhoods feel estranged from formal institutions; they may lack the social and/or political capital to engage law enforcement in order to address various problems within their neighborhood. Often, the police may view these structurally depressed neighborhoods as crime-prone ecological units.

Some instances of police shootings tend to be indefensible. While people are prepared to accept a single officer may resort to deadly shooting based on his judgment, the people resent the use of deadly force by multiple officers involved in the shooting. This suggestion is validated by the outcry which followed the shooting of a 92 year old woman (Kathryn Johnston) in Atlanta by more than four officers under the guise of the belief that the woman was a drug trafficker. What made it worse was the discovery later that there was an attempt to cover up the events leading up to the shooting of the black woman. Curiously enough, it was another racially tainted police fatality. The position of the police officers is that they need to defend themselves against perceived dangers from the suspects and that any attempt to control their use of deadly force is a way of handcuffing them and making them defenseless. For the citizens, particularly the black population, the use of deadly force is not justifiable in most circumstances and is viewed as excessive in most cases. In the article under reference, two separate studies were conducted to investigate perceptions of Police use or misuse of deadly force. The first study found that as number of officers decreased and number of shots increased, perceptions of misuse of force were augmented. Number of shots per officer significantly predicted perceptions of misuse of force.  The second study showed a significant interaction between number of officers, number of shots fired, and social dominance orientation. This personality variable was an especially strong predictor of misuse of force in situations involving the largest number of shots fired per officer. This finding is in consonance with the racial element inherent the deadly shootings of the police. One way of testing the validity of the racial sentiment would have been to examine the rate of deadly shootings among black police officers and to see who were shot in terms of racial composition, (Perkins & Bourgeois, 2006).

The issue of police shootings took a different dimension with the suggestion that particular races are being targeted for such fatal assaults. Unfortunately, several studies seem to support the racial undertone in the shootings, according to Tennebaum (1994). Prior to the Garner case, police shooting was governed by one of four legal excuses for shooting a suspect. They are The Any-Felony Rule; the Defense-of Life Rule; The Model Penal Code; The Forcible Felony Rule. The any felony rule excused a police officer who shot at a suspect getting away running away after committing a felony. The problem with virtually all of the four rules was them they called for a judgment on the part of the officer even before the suspect has a day in court. In the Garner case, Garner brought an action against the police officer and the police department for fatally shooting his son while leaving the scene of a burglary. The suspect was unarmed. The court ruled that such shooting may not be used unless it is to prevent the escape and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others. 

There is a variant of deadly police shooting which cannot be blamed on the police because it is induced by the victims themselves. Victim induced shooting has been defined in several ways and Mckenzie considered some of the definitions describing them as confusing: killing in which the victim is the precipitator of the killing, incidents in which people bent on self destruction engage in life threatening and criminal activities to force the police to shoot them. All the definitions considered indicate a conscious act on the part of the victim. But the writer points out that not all shooting inducing act are conscious.  In this area of police shooting, race does not appear to be a factor.

On the side of the police, it must be stated that there are confusing terminologies in the race discussion. Minorities can be contextual. Blacks may be minorities in the United States of America as a whole. But not so in some communities that are predominantly black. For example, in most metropolitan Atlanta in the state of Georgia, it would be incorrect to refer to blacks as the minority because they are in majority. The fact of the racial composition of the community is significant because of claims of racial profiling. Where three of four citizens are blacks, it follows that blacks are going to form majority of those apprehended by the police in that community. It is quite possible, for example, to have all the people pulled over in a routine police check to be black because not very many whites are present in the community. It would also be possible for the police to be very active and engage in aggressive policing strategies if the people in the black community have a huge criminal propensity. One fact must be stated. Blacks tend to be more violent than other races. Moreover, how reasonable is the allegation of racial bias where the apprehending officers are blacks? It must mean that the association with aggression and violence emanates from the people and not from the police. The perception of black as violent and aggressive people appears to be the same with black police officers as it is with white police officers.

There appears to be statistics to support the accusation of racial bias in the law enforcement procedures involving black people. According to the Federal Household Survey, “most current illicit drug users are white. There were an estimated 9.9 million whites (72 percent of all users), 2.0 million blacks (15 percent), and 1.4 million Hispanics (10 percent) who were current illicit drug users in 1998. “And yet, blacks constitute 36.8% of those arrested for drug violations, over 42% of those in federal prisons for drug violations. African-Americans comprise almost 58% of those in state prisons for drug felonies; Hispanics account for 20.7%, (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Summary Report 1998, cited in Race Law Enforcement & Prison, 2008). The picture painted after reading the above statistics is that more white people commit crimes than blacks, but there are more black people caught for the crimes. It is either that the white criminals are too clever for the law enforcement officers or the law enforcement officers know who the criminals are among white people, but choose not to apprehend them. It is doubtful if the latter is the case.

In an interview conducted by the writer with Assistant Police in Dekalb, Kennis Harrell on 11/20/2008, the racial profiling assumption was flawed. The Assistant chief does not agree with claim of racial profiling. His argument was that in a predominantly black populated County like Dekalb, it is to be expected that most of the apprehended suspects would reflect the racial composition of the County. He would also not agree that blacks have a higher criminal propensity than whites. It comes down to the same argument that blacks would commit crimes in a black populated community. The same thing goes for the Latino populated areas. This argument when stretched further seems to dispel the racial content in the spate of deadly police shootings. It would appear that each case of deadly police shootings would have to be analyzed on a case by case basis. Consequently, the only theory that would apply generally to all cases would be the “danger perception” theory, (Best & Quigley, 2003). According to this theory, police officers react to the level of danger they imagine they are in. It then appears to be pure coincidence that more ethnic minorities are involved in deadly police shootings. It is definitely an issue deserving of further inquiry as the trend is disturbing. There is much truth in the suggestion made by Stewart (2007) that there should be further inquiry on what the impact of the presence of minorities in the various police departments would have on the minorities’ perception of the law enforcement agencies. Would the minorities in the police force see their kith and kin as more aggressive and more violent than others? The answer appears to be that perceptions would hardly change. The reason is that even in neighborhoods which are predominantly black both in population and in the composition of the police departments, racial profiling (so called) is not absent and feelings of unfairness and police brutality remain strong.

There is the need for African Americans to have a re-orientation; one that emphasizes industry as opposed cutting corners; one that symbolizes hard work and not seeking to reap where they have not sown; a comprehensive program for all round development as opposed to the get rich syndrome and a genuine effort at abandoning ghetto life.

Best, D. & Quigley, A. (2003) Shootings By the Police: What Predicts When a Firearms

            Officer in England and Wales will pull the Trigger, Policing and Society, Vol. 13

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Brunson, R. K. (2007) “Police Don’t Like Black People”: African American Young

            Men’s Accumulated Police Experiences, Journal of Criminology and Public

            Policy, Vol. 6 No 1 PP 71-102

Harris, M. (1999), Theories of culture in postmodern times. Walnut Greek, CA: AltaMira

            Press.

Linton, R. (Ed.) (1945). Present world conditions in cultural perspective. 

, The science of man in world crisis (pp. 201-21). Columbia University Press

Mckenzie, I. (2006) Forcing the Police to Open Fire:  Cross-Cultural/ International

Examination of Police Involved, Victim-Provoked Shootings, Journal of Crisis

Negotiations, Vol. 6 No. 1

Perkins, J. E. & Bourgeois, M. J. (2006) Perceptions of Police Use of Deadly Force

            Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 36 No. 1

Peruche, M & Plant, E. A. (2006), The Correlates of Law Enforcement Officers’

            Automatic and Controlled Race Based Responses to Criminal Suspects

            Basic and Applied Psychology Vol. 28 No. 2 PP. 193-199

Ruth, R. S. & Reitz, K. R. (2003) The Challenge of crime: Rethinking our response,

            Cambridge, Mass. Harvard University Press

Stewart, E (2007) Either They Don’t Know or They Don’t Care: Black Males and

            Negative Police Experiences, Journal of Criminology and Public Policy

            Vol. 6 No. 1 PP. 123-130

Tennebaum, A (1994) The Influence of the Garner Decision on Police Use of Deadly

 Force The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology Vol. 85 No. 1

Winter, B (1980)       “Deadly Force” Laws under Fire after Miami American Bar

            Association Journal Vol. 66 Issue 7

http://www.flexyourrights.org/race_law_enforcement_and_prison retrieved on

11/21/2008

Betting on sports is getting more and more high tech as the years go by. Decades ago a person could call a buddy down the street or someone they worked with and have them place a bet for you. Everyone knew who everyone else was and everything was pretty well known amongst certain circles. Now with sports being bet on in online forums the whole thing seems to be more anonymous to me. Despite many of these companies keeping your name and other important information about you, many of the investigations involving sports betting nowadays can be harder to trace and more far reaching on a global scale. I certainly don’t mean that the investigations are harder to conduct in regards to gambling on sports for law enforcement. I am referring to the fact that spouses can easily hide their betting habits with the online forums without their spouse even knowing about it. This is particularly true in relationships where one spouse trusts the other one to do all of their banking online while they are putting money on football games, boxing matches and horse races in their spare time. The legal commercial world seems to be getting more open about gambling on sporting events. Former Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura is now a spokesman for BetUs.com. Ventura has taken on the gig to promote the ideals of personal freedom and liberty in his opinion. Many people view the process of making wagers in the same light. I’m sure that many people would like to see gambling restrictions on sporting events lifted. This could very well be a highlight of Ventura’s platform if he seeks public office in the future. Now of course he would not have been allowed to have a job like that as a supplementary income while he was serving in public office, but with Ventura being able to ink that deal just shows how mainstream the concept of putting money on sporting events has become. Former Utah Utes and current St. Louis Billikens head coach Rick Majerus would bemoan the hypocrisy of holding a conference tournament in Las Vegas or Atlantic City where there are slot machines, card tables, etc. all over the place and then these young basketball players would have to attend meetings on the dangers of gambling. It is also amusing to some how corporate television stations like CBS will run advertisements during a game about how gambling on college games in particular ruined the lives of so many young people-while in the next breathe be encouraging people to fill out their brackets for the NCAA Tournament office pools. After the point shaving scandals that were discovered at institutions like Arizona State and San Jose State you would think the NCAA would either take the problem of gambling more serious and not promote it in such a back handed way or else be more realistic about the fact that so many people participate in it. Wayne Gretzky’s wife was even supposedly placing bets on the Super Bowl through then Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet. Although it appears that Wayne nor his wife actually ever bet on any hockey games. Of course the Pete Rose saga and his time as manager of the Reds is well documented. This just proves that gambling on the games we love can have an impact on some of the most talented and best minds in the game no matter the sport or league. For more information on sports betting, visit http://bookmakersmicroblog.com and http://sportsbettingmicroblog.com

Betting on sports is getting more and more high tech as the years go by. Decades ago a person could call a buddy down the street or someone they worked with and have them place a bet for you. Everyone knew who everyone else was and everything was pretty well known amongst certain circles. Now with sports being bet on in online forums the whole thing seems to be more anonymous to me. Despite many of these companies keeping your name and other important information about you, many of the investigations involving sports betting nowadays can be harder to trace and more far reaching on a global scale. I certainly don’t mean that the investigations are harder to conduct in regards to gambling on sports for law enforcement. I am referring to the fact that spouses can easily hide their betting habits with the online forums without their spouse even knowing about it. This is particularly true in relationships where one spouse trusts the other one to do all of their banking online while they are putting money on football games, boxing matches and horse races in their spare time. The legal commercial world seems to be getting more open about gambling on sporting events. Former Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura is now a spokesman for BetUs.com. Ventura has taken on the gig to promote the ideals of personal freedom and liberty in his opinion. Many people view the process of making wagers in the same light. I’m sure that many people would like to see gambling restrictions on sporting events lifted. This could very well be a highlight of Ventura’s platform if he seeks public office in the future. Now of course he would not have been allowed to have a job like that as a supplementary income while he was serving in public office, but with Ventura being able to ink that deal just shows how mainstream the concept of putting money on sporting events has become. Former Utah Utes and current St. Louis Billikens head coach Rick Majerus would bemoan the hypocrisy of holding a conference tournament in Las Vegas or Atlantic City where there are slot machines, card tables, etc. all over the place and then these young basketball players would have to attend meetings on the dangers of gambling. It is also amusing to some how corporate television stations like CBS will run advertisements during a game about how gambling on college games in particular ruined the lives of so many young people-while in the next breathe be encouraging people to fill out their brackets for the NCAA Tournament office pools. After the point shaving scandals that were discovered at institutions like Arizona State and San Jose State you would think the NCAA would either take the problem of gambling more serious and not promote it in such a back handed way or else be more realistic about the fact that so many people participate in it. Wayne Gretzky’s wife was even supposedly placing bets on the Super Bowl through then Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet. Although it appears that Wayne nor his wife actually ever bet on any hockey games. Of course the Pete Rose saga and his time as manager of the Reds is well documented. This just proves that gambling on the games we love can have an impact on some of the most talented and best minds in the game no matter the sport or league. For more information on sports betting, visit http://bookmakersmicroblog.com and http://sportsbettingmicroblog.com

What does it take to have “the perfect game?” Every athlete of any sport knows what those three words mean, and they may spend their entire career trying to have that one flawless performance. Many young athletes have trouble with consistency in sports performances, and have no clue why. They may come into the season in great shape, possessing the well-refined skills that there sport requires, having a solid game plan intact, having eaten well and getting antiquate sleep all week, but still having inconsistency during competition. What is the missing ingredient? The answer lies within the skull. Sports psychology is one of the most overlooked and underrated aspects of sports performances. Many psychological factors, such as memory, focus, arousal level, anxiety and stress can drastically effect a sports performance.

According to William James, attention is “the taking possession by mind in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneous possible objects or trains of thought.” (Huang & Lynch, 1992)

Memory can be held in one of three basic systems. The sensory regular system holds large amounts of information for a short period of time. Long-term memory holds smaller amounts of information for a long period of time, and the short-term memory system is the crossroad between the two. (Cox, 1998) To put these in perspective, the long-term memory would hold a skill, such as dribbling a basketball. The short-term memory would hold the scouting report of the opposing team. The sensory regular system would be responsible for in game awareness, such as the tempo of the game and adjusting to opposing player’s strengths.

Athletes must respond in some way to their environmental situation. The larger the amount of information being conveyed makes a situation more difficult to respond to. However, through careful analysis, the difficulty of a situation can be reduced. (Cox, 1998) For example, lets compare two baseball players with equal talent. Player A has done his homework on his upcoming opponent. He knows that the pitcher he will be facing is a lefty who loves to throw a fastball that reaches 85 mph. He also throws in a changeup at 70 mph and a splitter that breaks to the left. Player B shows up to the game having no knowledge on his opponent. The amount of information that player A will have to take in while batting is considerably less than player B. Naturally, he will have a higher rate of success, for he has a better idea of what to expect.

Information content can also be reduced with skill level. The more refined an athlete’s skill is in a game situation, the less information he or she must account for. (Cox, 1998)

Anxiety is another contributing factor in a sports performance. There are two basic types of anxiety that apply: somatic and cognitive state anxiety. Somatic anxiety is the physical component of anxiety. It is the butterflies in the stomach feeling before a game. A certain degree of somatic anxiety is perfectly healthy.

Cognitive anxiety on the other hand, can be costly. It is the mental component of anxiety that causes feelings of worry, self-doubt and loss of self-esteem.

Before a sports performance, certain levels of both anxiety types are to be expected, increasing in intensity as the event draws closer. During the performance, intensity should change. Somatic anxiety is best in the middle; levels that are too high or too low can hurt a performance. Cognitive anxiety can prove to be more costly at higher levels.

Of course, each athlete perceives anxiety differently. The athlete must work to find his or her own optimal level of arousal. (Cox, 1994)

Arousal refers to the degree of activation of the organs and mechanisms that are under control of the body’s autonomic nervous system. More specifically, the sympathetic nervous system is primarily responsible for the changes in bodily functions associated with arousal. This system is activated by stimuli from the environment that are perceived as threatening.

Arousal level has a direct effect on attentional narrowing. Increased arousal has a narrowing effect on attention. Sports that require a broad focus must have lower levels of arousal. Oppositely, decreased arousal has a broadening effect on attention; therefore sports that require a narrow focus must have higher levels of arousal.

Finding the right level of focus depends on the sport being played or action being carried out. (Cox, 1998) If one has too low an arousal level, the may be easily distracted by things that do not apply to the game. If arousal level is too high, the athlete may be too focused on one aspect of the game, and will forget other important aspects. For example, a golfer may worry too much about hitting the ball hard that he forgets his mechanics, and hooks the ball far to the left.

Selective attention is another important characteristic of a successful athlete. Having the ability to weed out unnecessary information and focus on tasks in demand is a skill that can be learned. It is helpful to understand this concept with the focus chart. Imagine two perpendicular lines. At the ends of the vertical line lies external focus and internal focus. At the ends of the horizontal line lies broad focus and narrow focus. (Hatfield, 2004) As mentioned before, different sports require different levels of focus, and even within a sport, different positions may require different levels of focus. A quarterback would need to broaden focus in order to scan the field and see all of his receivers. A cornerback (defensive player who’s primary responsibility is to cover receivers) would have a narrow focus. A quarterback with too narrow a focus may throw a ball without seeing the defender in position to intercept the pass. A corner with too broad a focus would be susceptible to loosing sight of his man, and give up a big play. Finding the right balance of broad/narrow and internal/external focus for a particular assignment in a sport is key to success.

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After suffering a setback during a game, it is important for the athlete to keep from loosing focus. Refocusing after a miscue, bad call, or any distraction can be the difference between a good player and a champion. First, one must displace the negative thoughts with positive ones. Second, they should center attention internally, and make minor adjustments in arousal level. Then, one must shift focus externally on the task at hand. At this point, the athlete has hopefully forgotten the distraction and is ready to execute. (Loehr, 1994)

Mental toughness is a term thrown around expendably by youth coaches and PE teachers. The fact is that acquiring the components of mental toughness is necessary to become a great athlete. Toughness can be understood by four categories. First, an athlete must be emotionally flexible. He/she must have the ability to roll with the unexpected emotional turns in a sporting event. The athlete must be emotionally responsive, being able to keep game awareness under pressure. The athlete must be emotionally strong, having the ability to exert and resist great force and keep striving for victory under pressure. Lastly, the athlete must be emotionally resilient, by bouncing back quickly from mistakes. These abilities can be learned. The best way to improve as an athlete is to recognize weaknesses, and practice correcting them. (Loehr, 1994)

The balance of stress and recovery are another component that affects an athlete. In our terms, stress is anything that takes energy, and recovery is anything that restores energy. There are three types: physical, mental and emotional. Stress can be from running, jumping and moving (physical), focusing, problem solving and thinking (mental) or anger, fear, depression and frustration (emotional). Recovery can be eating, drinking and sleeping (mental), decreasing focus and increasing fantasy and creativity (mental), or relief, positive feelings, fun and self-esteem (emotional). All three types of stress are interconnected. Excess in one area can affect all three. (Hatfield, 2004) This is why a balance is needed between stress and recovery. An athlete must push him/herself in order to grow in all three areas, but must also allow time for adequate recovery.

Reaching the zone, which is also referred to as “flow,” is the most rewarding feeling for an athlete. There are several defining characteristics. First, it requires the ability to perform all necessary skills for a specific sport simultaneously. Second, there must be a merging of action and awareness. Third, goals must be clearly defined, which basically means knowing the sport and the game plan. Next, the athlete must receive clear feedback from coaches and teammates. Then, there must be a sense of control without trying. There will be a loss of self-awareness, as well as a loss of time awareness. The end result is referred to as an autotelic experience, a self-contained activity done simply because the activity itself is the reward. (Cox.1998)

It is in the zone that optimal levels of performance can be experienced. If an athlete can attain and maintain this state, the perfect game may be in his/her hands.

For me, the mental aspect of sports has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride. Naturally being a highly competitive individual, I learned early on that I was destined to be a jock. In my younger years, my extreme competitiveness and aggressiveness was a double-edged sword. I often fouled out of basketball games, and even got into a few scuffles during soccer games. My temper would rage when the ball was not bouncing my way.

Eventually I learned to curve my temper, and I found a sport that fit my personality, football. At first I was unaware of the psychological aspects of the sports. During games, it all seemed the same to me. The only thing I knew is that I would do anything to win. It was the mental preparation aspect that always troubled me. After a few seasons, I decided that I needed to obtain a certain mental state before the game to optimize my performance. Right before we hit the field, I would think about all of the things that angered me, and would work myself up to a state of rage. Sometimes this strategy would benefit (when it did, it was short lasting), and other times I would play out of control.

It wasn’t until my senior year of football that I really began to focus on mental strategies. Before each game, I needed to reach the most gratifying mental state: the zone. My body would feel loose and powerful. I would react without thinking about moving. I would have an intense focus on the task at hand. Lastly, my emotions would be under control, but ready to explode at any minute, in other words, a controlled rage.

Through trial and error, I found that there were a few things that I could do to reach the zone. The morning of the game, I would be sure to wake up with a little bit of anger. Throughout the day I would carry an edgy demeanor. I would avoid having conversations with people, and would stay relatively low key. As the game approached, I would gradually focus my thoughts. I would visualize myself doing my assignments. When we hit the locker room, I would find a quiet corner and listen to music. During warm-ups my focus would shift to my body. I ensured that every joint and muscle was as prepared as possible for the battle ahead. During the game, my mind would naturally focus solely on the game. I noticed that my pre-game anxiousness would usually subside after the opening kickoff. I would keep myself focused mainly on my assignment, but was always conscious of the game time, down and distance, and what the opposing team was doing. I can vividly remember many altercations I had with teammates and opposing players, but I would could completely lose consciousness of external events.

Looking back, I cannot remember ever hearing the crowd, the band or the announcer. During the game I was usually very critical of my performance. I would usually talk to myself, referring to myself in third person. If I did something good, I would yell out “ that a baby, that’s the way you play.” I would also yell at myself if I made a mistake. A few times I got into trouble with referees for yelling out profanities. I would also yell at myself if I felt lax, or if I felt I was losing focus. After big games, I could remember being emotionally drained. A few times I could not even put together sentences because of the amount of physical and emotional stress I had endured. Looking back, I now realize that most of the emotional stress was self-inflicted.

After researching this topic, I have come to realize that I had many weaknesses in my psychological approach to sports. My main struggle had to do with dealing with failure. I had always considered myself a mentally tough athlete, but according to the definition, I am not completely resilient. I was never good at forgetting a mistake. Instead, I would become angry, and my arousal level would become so high that I would sometimes focus on causing physical harm to my opponent, and lose sight of my assignment. Fortunately this strategy worked a few times, for I would become more physically imposing than usual, but other times it got me into trouble.

I also wish I had understood the concept of arousal level. I always thought that the more fired up I was, that the better I would perform. Looking back, I can recall a few instances in which my intense focus led to disaster. In a game against our cross-town rivals, I became extremely aroused after having made a big hit. The next play I was so focused on stopping another run play, that I forgot about the receiver I was covering, and he caught a ball over my head for a first down. If I had broadened my focus, it would have been an easy stop. Overall, I can relate my experience fairly closely to the material I have researched. I had never thought about game mentality in terms of something that could be studied. However, reading through the concepts was an enlightening experience; many of my theories had been confirmed, and the reason for many of my struggles became clear.

The contents of this essay described several aspects of sports psychology. Topics included memory as it relates to athletic performance, anxiety types and intensity of anxiety, arousal levels and focus, the benefit of selective attention, refocusing, defining mental toughness, balancing stress and recovery, defining components of “the zone,” and lastly my personal experience with the mental aspects of sports. Like any other scientific field, sports psychology is ever changing. What may hold true today is susceptible to revision at any time. What is without question, however, is the impact that mental state and emotion can have on an athlete’s performance.

Cox, R.J. (1998). Sport Psychology, Concepts and Applications. St. Louis: McGraw Hill Hatfield, F.C. (2004). Fitness, the Complete Guide. Carpenteria, CA: Txul-157-866 Frederick C. Hatfield

Huang, C. & Lynch J. (1992). Thinking Body, Dancing Mind. Bantam Books: New York

Loehr, J.E. (1994). The New Toughness Training for Sports. Dutton Books: New York

Team building is a complex matter that needs to address human psychology to build functional corporate sales teams or management teams to bring in more success to the companies. One important factor that can affect team building is the communication between team members and between superiors and subordinates. You may look for team building training companies that can address the underlying issues of performance by a corporate team. A team building training company professional can work with the HR department of the company and can sort out the issues needed to be solved. Lack of technical knowledge can be solved by proper HR training.

Companies of all sizes today are aware of the importance of team building. But the increased awareness has also created an overuse of the terms team building and corporate team building companies. A team is usually a group of persons working towards a single goal – in a corporate environment it can be more sales, development of new technology, or maintaining a good relation with customers. There can be different teams in the same organization. Efficient team leaders can motivate team members to fast forward to results or goals. If you have a team of 10 or 500 members, you still need to build a good team out of the crowd. Team building training companies design and develop variety of team building games and team building activities that systematically induce various elements of team work like better interpersonal communication, setting aside egos, reliability, trust and willingness to work towards common goals.

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Team building activities and team building games are facilitated under professional facilitators who have the knowledge about human psychology and the intricacies of team building. Professional teams building training companies have such facilitators who know how to develop team-building concepts to ensure better teamwork and participation from team members.

While you are looking for such a professional team building training company that gets the work done while having fun, you can contact The Team Builders Pro. TheTeamBuildersPro.com is a team building training company that gives team building training to employees. Before start the team building activities or team building events, the prevailing issues are sorted out with the HR managers. This will help to design apt team building training activities suited for the specific team.

We serve in all parts of United States and also in Canada. Our services are available from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts. You can get team building training at Los Angeles, Miami, Boston, Washington, New York, Phoenix, Buffalo, Sacramento, Kansas, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Memphis, Detroit… check out the list of 500 plus cities where our services are available to rest assured that assistance from the best team building training company is just a click or a phone call away.

As a team building training company, we also offer to provide you with the best of team building event-planning service. You can contact us for the budgetary needs, event venue planning, rentals of team building games and equipment’s etc.

Service of this team building training company is available in New York, Los Angeles California, Dallas Texas, Chicago Illinois, Miami Florida, Orlando Florida, San Jose California, Sacramento California, Alexandria, Washington DC, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Birmingham Alabama, Jackson Mississippi, St. Louis Missouri, Boston Massachusetts, Atlanta Georgia, Phoenix Arizona, Lincoln Nebraska, Manchester New Hampshire, Waterbury Connecticut, San Diego California, San Francisco California, Orange County, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Minneapolis Minnesota, Las Vegas Nevada, Indianapolis Indiana, Seattle Washington, Denver Colorado, Houston Texas, San Antonio Texas etc.

                                                                                          

American Football NFL Blog, stay up to date on the latest developments in American Football.

Here is the latest NFL news about teams, matches, super bowl; This Blog is really amazing with lots of information about football players, their snaps and current updates. American Football NFL Blog contains News, views and highlights from all of the Latin American football nations.

American Football Blog contains lots of information about Super Bowl, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans, San Diego Chargers  Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, NFL Playoffs, Adrian Peterson, Anquan Boldin, Atlanta Falcons, Ben Roethlisberger, Brian Westbrook, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Clinton Portis, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Edgerrin James, Frank Gore, Green Bay Packers, Hines Ward, Houston Texan, Jacksonville Jaguars, Joseph Addai, Kansas City Chiefs, Kurt Warner, LaDainian Tomlinson, Larry Fitzgerald, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Peyton Manning, Pittsburgh Steelers, Rashard Mendenhall, Raymond James Stadium, San Francisco 49ers, Santonio Holmes, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Steven Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tom Brady, Tony Romo, Top NFL Players , Washington Redskins, Willie Parker, Basketball Slam Dunk and many more.

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Here is some information which is being given in detail in the American Football NFL Blog. Malcolm Jenkins makes it four in a row in absences for the training camp; this is due to the fact that they are still on negotiations with his contract. One of the main goals of sports organizations all over the world for getting kids into sports is to keep them away from drugs. Sports are actually a way to. One of the most epic sports games is just around the corner, as the Arizona Cardinals will go up against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Matthew Stafford was picked first as expected but there were some surprises in the draft itself.

Bill Belichick the coach of New England Patriots is not saying anything about the state of the throwing shoulder of Tom Brady.  Last Saturday, Bill said Brady came out of the previous night’s preseason game after a collision hit from Albert Haynesworth the Washington Redskins defensive tackle.  Bill said Bradys right shoulder is just the usual bumps and bruises due to a physical game.

They decided to field other quarterbacks in the Washington game because it was the team’s decision.  Bill said in a conference with reporters.  Tom wanted to play but they decided not to make him until he is evaluated.  Brady had two touch downs and completed 12 of 19 passes for 150 yards.  He also hit wide receiver Randy Moss six times for 90 yards and both TDs as the Patriots beat the Redskins 27-24 on Stephen Gostkowski’s last-minute field goal.  On Brandy’s last play, Haynesworth smashed him to the turf after throwing an incomplete third down pass just before the first two-minute warning.

Roger Goodell, the NFL Commissioner is envisioning a Super Bowl game in mid February if his plan of expanding the schedule to seventeen or eighteen games is carried and approved by the team owners. The proposal would eliminate the two pre season games and instead add them to the regular season. To him the idea has merit and it is essentially “taking the quality and improving upon it, instead of playing two meaningless games you end up playing a more meaningful twenty game framework.” The problem then would be making Super Bowl schedule that can be in conflict with other high profile events such as the Daytona 500, the NBA All Star game and the Winter Olympics. But compared to these events, there is no bigger event in the United States than the NFL Super Bowl. Ultimately, he says that there “are a lot of positives and opportunities to it but there are also cautionary things like overexposure, safety and health issues of the players and the agreements with television and other media organizations.”

Sherry Ingram

American Football NFL

sherryingram@kstarcountry.com http://www.americanfootballblog.com/

Boris Onischenko

In 1976, at the Montreal Olympics, Boris Onischenko was caught cheating in fencing. Boris was an affiliate of the Soviet team, who were contending in the pentathlon. He was also a member of the infamous KGB. At some stage in the event, Boris was caught with a mechanism, in his sword that would set off the “hit” marker. Boris was able to manipulate the apparatus and attain hits whenever he wanted. As a result, he was disqualified and hurried out of the country in shame.

Frederick Lorz

The 1904 Olympics were held in St Louis, Missouri. Fred finished the event with a remarkable time of 3 hours and 13 minutes. It was later discovered that after nine miles, his manager picked him up in a car and they drove together for the next 11 miles. Fred was stripped of the gold medal, which  was given to Thomas Hicks, a British athlete. Ironically by today’s values, Hicks would have also been disqualified for using strychnine and brandy to assist him during the contest.

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Spain’s basketball team

The Spanish men’s basketball team won gold, but had to give back their medals. An examination made on the team revealed that nine of the players on the team had no disability. The squad had beaten the Russians to win the gold in the intellectual disability competition.

Women’s high jump

Hermann Ratjen was discovered to be a man. This situation unlike numerous others was more of a medical mix-up than a conscious attempt to deceive. “Dora Ratjen” competed at the 1936 Olympics where he/she placed fourth in woman‘s high jump. Hermann then went on to set a world record at the European Championships in Vienna. On his way home, he was apprehended at a train station after travellers had alerted authorities of a male abroad who was travelling dressed as a woman. A doctor confirmed that “Dora” was without a doubt a man. After the exam, the medical doctor explained that ‘Dora’ had a birth imperfection, which explained why the midwife had mistaken the baby for a woman.

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson was born in Jamaica in 1961. He immigrated to Canada with his kin in 1976 and trained in Scarborough, Ontario under the supervision of former  Olympian, Charlie Francis. His first big international success came in 1982 when he won medals at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia. At the Seoul Olympics, Ben placed first in the 100m dash but botched the drug test. He was stripped of his gold medal and his world records.